Hamburg, Germany – the underrated version of Amsterdam and don’t forget the football team, Der Dino – Hamburger SV

If you’ve ever been to Amsterdam, it’s full of tourists which I think some of them are just there for either sex or drugs or both. There is a reason why I never posted anything about Amsterdam – there is not much to post about. It’s just there that it’s pretty easy to travel in/out of. I basically went there just to look around and see the Rembrandt Museum and Von Gogh Museum; everything else was just an added bonus. Yes, the Anne Frank House is there as well but after seeing the friggin’ long-ass line which I figured out that I would have to wait 4 hours just to go in and see everything in 15 minutes? Nah. I’m going to pass.

It’s funny how you walk, you turn and look – and bam! There’s the Rathaus aka the Mayor’s House or main City Office/Building. Right in the city.

Unfortunately, Hamburg got bombed quite a bit during World War II so a lot of the buildings suffered some damage. But I think this St. Peter’s Church made it out okay (or they did a good job patching it up).

Hamburg is different. Like Amsterdam, this city has canals and water but it’s a lot nicer and cleaner than Amsterdam because this German city doesn’t have the reputation of a “trash-the-city-it’s-party-time!” Nope. It’s more laid-back and efficient as a river port that used to be a city-state for a long time meaning that it was effectively its own country for a long time until the French Emperor Napoleon just merged all the German-speaking regions and small kingdoms into one.

In the distance on the left hand side is the Rathaus (main city government building). Like Amsterdam with its water, this city is a lot calmer with less tourists.

Hamburg being a river port, you’ll see a lot of boats, kayaks, ships, etc. in this city.

Hamburg is not that exciting so I recommend going there for a football game! I got the good fortune of going to Hamburger SV / HSV (SV meaning Sports-Verein or Sports Club), the last great Bundesliga (German Football) team that has never been relegated from top-flight football. Well, actually, they did get relegated at the end of the 2017-18 season but I got to go and watch them before they relegated “Der Dino” or “Der Dinosaur”…. the last remaining original Bundesliga founding team to finally go down from Bundesliga and into Bundesliga 2.

Volksparkstadion, home of Hamburg SV, and the last remaining team that had never gotten relegated from top flight German Bundesliga until in 2018, it finally happened.

It was interesting at this game that they had a pregame concert and they even elevated the band!

They had some great success in the 1970s and 1980s, but in the later years, the team has struggled despite being in a rich city and having a rich backer. The team was so proud of its “never relegated” status that they had a clock which showed how long the team has been in top flight Bundesliga. That clock got reset on the last game of the 2017-18 season when they finally got relegated. Even the people of Hamburg thought that they would pull a Houdini-escape-trick like they did a few times before in the past when they were on the brink but escaped to stay in Bundesliga 1. However, time finally caught them and pulled them down to earth (or even further down depending on how they do in future years).

And they’re off! Playing in the game that they needed to win. The team is also called the Rotenhosen meaning red pants as they generally play in red shorts. But not always as I’ve see them play in blue shorts before as well.

This is something that I rarely have seen but the goalie is bringing up the ball to mid-field! It’s a sweeper keeper but generally not always the best tactic as someone on the other team could steal it and loft it over to score an easy one.

Another team that is good to watch is St. Pauli who also play in Hamburg. Hamburger SV and St. Pauli can really get into it that fans will go ballistic. With Hamburg’s relegation from top flight football after the 2017-18, the Hamburg Stadtderby (also known as Nordderby) is on again after several years of not playing each other. People will get the rare chance to watch these two Hamburger teams go at it again before Hamburg will likely achieve promotion back to first league. Unless of course, HSV get complacent again as they did during the 2000s which resulted in their relegation in 2018. St. Pauli has only played at top flight a few times and I feel that their liberalism is what causes them to not make as money as Hamburger SV so they cannot make it long-term in Bundesliga 1. For example, they have a skull and crossbones as their flag.

Tip: I recommend going to Hamburg to see it for your own eyes. There might not be much to do in Hamburg due to the aerial bombings during WW II so that’s why go to a football game to make the trip worthwhile.